Rod holder



Jan. .0; J. B. HADAVVAY ROD HOLDER Filed May 29, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor. a

Jan. 10, 1939. J. B. HADAWAY 2,143,109

ROD HOLDER Filed May 29, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inven tor Patented Jan. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,143,109 I w v.

5 Claims. (01. 248-42) This invention relates to improvements in rodsupporting devices and is, herein illustrated as embodied in a support for a fishing rod which is adapted to secure the rod in operativeposition uponthe gunwale of a boat or other supporting structure. g I

The invention is'particularly" adapted for use in fishing from boats by trolling, in which operation one or more fishing rodsare customarily secured to a portion of the boat with the rod extending at an angle of about forty degrees from the center line of the boat and toward the stern thereof. Since the user of the rod in many instances must have his hands free, for example to row the boat, the rod should be securely supported in such manner that there willbe no likelihood" of losing the rod and other expensive equipment overboard and atthe same time the rod'must be supported in such position as to be effective in attracting fish but also should be readily removable from the support'in condition for operation upon obtaining a strike. In view of this, it is an object of the present invention to provide a holderof the type mentionedwhich will be particularly effective in its operation and which can be readily adjusted into various positions to accommodate for widely varying conditions met with in the sport. a r

To this end, andas illustrated, my invention provides a rod holder adapted to be clamped to the gunwale of a boat or othersupport and having a pivotally mounted bracket provided with a rod-engaging portion, there being resilient means for clamping the rod against said rod-engaging portion. Preferably, and as show'n the bracket is pi dtally mounted upon a clamping member so that the position of the bracket and rod in horizontal and vertical planesv can readily be varied. As shown, the bracket is provided with prongs adapted to engage and support the rod at the forward end of the bracket, there being a hook for engaging the rod on the rear portion of the bracket and a spring-pressed clamping member for forcing the butt end of the rod into engagement with the hook. This construction is advantageous in that it holds the rod in a predetermined position against a downward pull on the end of the rod as would be met with when the fish strikes or if the current in the stream or lake is swift. The clamping action of the hook and clamping member maintains the rod in position with the reel in operativeposition. Preferably,the bracketis provided with a cam slot so arranged that the clamping member can be held in inoperative position away from the rod. This is advantageous in that when it is desired to pick up the rod and remove it fromthe holder that can readily be "accomplished merely by pressing against the clamping member with the butt end of the rod until the member is locked initsinop erative position. The rod can then be removed with a minimum loss of time, a point which is important in the operation of landing a fish.

' --These and other features of the invention are illustrated in the'accompanyingdrawinjgs and are set forth in the following detailed specification and in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of arod holder embodying one form of my invention and. illustrating the manner of using the device on a boat; Fig. 2 is anexploded view in perspective, show ing portionsiof the spindle and its associated mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a rod holder em bodying a. modified form 01 my invention; and f Fig. 4 is an exploded view illustrating in perspect'ive the spindle illustratedin Fig. 3 and its associated parts;

' The' preferred form of illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a O-shaped clamp l0. adapted to be secured'to a suitable support,

such as the gunwale I! of a boat It. An arcuate shaped bracket I5 is adjustablysecured to a spihdlelfi' extending through an opening in a boss l8 forming part of the clamp, the bracket having at-oppo'site ends thereof rod-engaging members in the form/oi prongs 20,and a hook 22 and clamp 24 adapted to support and secure in predeterminedposition a rod, such as fishing rod 26.

The bracket I5 is arranged for angular movement' about the axis of the spindle is as well as for angular movement in vertical planespassing through the axis. To this end the bracket has a longitudinal slot 28 through which the spindle l6 passes; The bracket rests upon a washer 30 which has a raised portion 32 only slightly less in width than the width of the slot so thatit acts as a guide to maintain the bracket in a predetermined vertical plane during adjustment to eleveto the rod. The underside'of the washer is provided with teeth 34 adapted to engage the teeth 35 of a second washer 3B arrangedto rest upon the upper side of the C-shaped clamp Ill. The washer 36 has a projection 31 which is adapted to engage the walls of a groove 38 in the bracket and consequently of the rod relatively to the center line of the boat. After this adjustment is made and the bracket shifted in a ,vertical plane to its desired position, the holder is clamped in fixed position by means of a wing nut II which bears against a washer 40 on the upper side of the bracket. Thus it will be apparent that the construction above outlined provides for universal adjustment of the rod-holder bracket relatively to the c-shaped clamp by which any desired position of the rod in a vertical plane or a horizontal plane may be obtained.

The c-clamp I4 is provided with a fixed jaw 42 and a movable jaw 44 operable by a thumb screw 40 and is arranged to engage opposite sides of the gunwale l2 of the boat. As shown in Fig. 1, the spindle It is positioned in a boss I. in the back of the clamp and extends upwardly in substantially vertical position. However, in the event that it is desired to attach the clampto the seat of a boat there is provided on the clamp a second boss 42 having a spindle-receiving opening it therein and a recess 52 corresponding to the recess 3! for receiving the spindle and associated parts. The lower end of the spindle is provided with a plate 54 extending laterally on both sides of the axis of the spindle. This plate cooperates with the spindle and nut It to secure the arcuate bracket I! in its adjusted position. Another function of the plate is to prevent rotation of the bracket about the axis of the clamping jaws 42 and 44, the ends of plate I4 being arranged to engage the upper surface of the gunwale to prevent such rotation. Angular movement of the plate relative to the clamp is prevented by a downwardly projecting lug 44. The feature just described is of considerable importance in maintaining the bracket in position with a rod held therein so located that a reel such as the reel 84 will at all times be accessible to the fisherman. This would not be the case if the bracket It could turn about the axis of the jaws of the clamp i until the reel or portions of a line extending therefrom or the bracket would engage the gunwale or other portion of the boat, a dimculty which has been experienced in connection with the operation of some of the rod-holding devices in the prior art.

The preferred means for holding the rod in position upon the bracket will now be described. This means comprises a U-shaped member at the forward end of the rod formed by the prongs 20 which constitutes a crotch in which the forward part of the butt of the rod can be placed. The rear end of the butt is engaged by the inverted U-shaped member or hook 22 which is bent in a plane extending laterally of the axis of the bracket ii and has an end portion 60 extending forwardly and upwardly relatively to the bracket. The rod rests in the prongs or crotch 20 and since the center of gravity of the rod is forward of that point the butt end of the rod will be thrust upwardly and when placed beneath the hook member 22 will tend to bear up against its undersurfaoe. The shape of the member 22 provides adequate clearance for the insertion and removal of the butt of the rod.

The members 20 and 22 thus serve to support the weight of the rod and limit its movement in lateral directions and, to a certain extent, up and down movement. However, in order to insure that the butt end of the rod is rigidly held in position, I have provided the clamping member 24 which is adapted to engage the underside of the butt end of the rod rearwardly of the hook 22 andto clamp it against the hook. This clamping member comprises a slightly curved portion extending transversely of the bracket and has a resilient shank portion 42 extending beneath the bracket and which includes an oifset portion 84 which extends through a retaining slot 66 in the bracket, and a second offset portion 42 at the end of which is a coiled spring 1| having an end portion I2 which is secured in an opening in the bracket by a screw I4. The spring HI and the curved portions .2 and II form resilient means normally operative to force the clamping member upwardly toward the hook member 22. The spring is prevented from moving laterally away from its position along the bracket by a lug 14 on the bracket. The slot 4' is curved inwardly toward the axis of the bracket and near its lower end terminates in a notch 12, there being a detent in the form of a projection 80 which acts as a lock to hold the clamping member in inoperative position when it has been moved downwardly until the offset shank portion 64 is positioned in the notch ll of the slot. This construction is advantageous in that the clamping member can be readily depressed and held in inoperative position, then the rear end of the butt of the rod is inserted between the ends of the hook and of the clamp 24 and placed upon the upper surface of the clamp. The forward portion of the butt is then lowered into the crotch 2| and a slight downward and lateral pressure will result in the release of the clamp, the spring forcing the clamp to engage the underside of the rod to press it firmly against the hook member 22. When it is desired to remove the rod it is i only necessary to press the butt end thereof downwardly until it is locked in inoperative position. This can be done very rapidly with very little conscious eifort upon the part of theflsherman. The rod is then readily removable by raising it out of the crotch and by swinging the butt end outwardly and downwardly of the bracket.

It is to be noted that when the clamping memher is in its lower or inoperative position the distance between the end ll of the hook member and the clamping member is suilicient to permit insertion of a rod by moving the same downwardly beneath the book then upwardly and inwardly over the clamping member. When in position the rod will not readily be shaken loose even though the clamping member is not in operative position.

Since the clamp 24 is positioned rearwardly of the hook 22 the pressure of the spring will force the rear end of the butt upwardly about the hook as a fulcrum, thus tending to force the forward portion of the butt downwardly thereby to maintain it within the prongs 2. against jerks applied at the end of the. rod.

The prongs 20 are bent inwardly as at II from points at a short distance below their ends so that forces tending to jounce the rod laterally will not be effective to jerk the rod out of the crotch. That is, the inturned ends of the projections serve as buffers to prevent the rod from being withdrawn from the crotch by accident, the space between the ends of the projections being only slightly greater than the diameter of the butt of the rod at that point.

In order to insure greater rigidity of the rod when supported in the holder than could otherwise be obtained, I have provided the prongs 20, the hook member 22 and the clamping member 24 with coverings of friction material such as 8B. The frictional contact between the tubing soft rubber, herein shown as tubing 82, 84 and referred to and the butt of the rod serves to decrease any tendency for the rod to rotate in its support and, in addition, assists the efiectiveness of the clamping action between the member 22 and the clamping member 24.

Figs. 3 ,and 4 illustrate a modified form of rodholding-device. As shown, this device comprises a C-clamp 88 similar to that illustrated in Fig. l, a spindle 90 extending through a boss 92 in the spindle and having adjustably mounted thereon a bracket 94. The bracket 94 is provided with prongs 96 and a hook member 98 similar in construction to the corresponding members shown in Fig. 1, there being a clamping member I for cooperating with the member 98 to clamp a rod in position. The bracket 94 in this instance is mounted for universal movement about the spindle 90 by means of a ball-and-socket joint, the ball portion I02 being integral with the bracket and being received in a recess I04 in the boss 92. The upper and lower portions of the ball are counterbored as indicated at I06 to provide a spindle-receiving opening and to provide clearance for movement of the bracket angularly of the axis of the spindle. The bracket can readily be clamped in adjusted position by means of a lock nut I08 and washer H0.

The clamping member I00 has a shank portion I I2 which terminates in a coil spring I I4, the end of which is adapted to be held in position in an opening H6 in a bolt II8 carried by the bracket 20 adapted to be secured on the spindle between the washer I I0 and the upper surface of the ball I02. The spring is clamped in position between a head I22 on the bolt H8 and a washer I24,

there being a wing nut I26 for holding these parts together. This construction provides means for varying the force of the spring in operating the detent I00. For example, if the nut I25 is loosened and the bolt rotated in a counterclockwise direction and the nut again tightened, increased spring pressure will be applied to the clamping member. The shank II2 of the clamping member extends through a slot I28 in the bracket, there being a projecting detent I30 for holding the member in an operative position.

The operation of the rod-holding devices above described is substantially the same and it is believed will be clear from the foregoing description. However, in summing up the operation of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, it is to be noted that after having adjusted the bracket I angularly to a desired position in horizontal and vertical planes and locking the bracket in ad-, justed position, a rod is placed in position in the holder by resting the forward part of the butt portion in the crotch 20 by tilting the rear end of the butt portion downwardly and under the leg of the member 22 and over the clamping member 24, which, at this time, should be in its inoperative position with the shank 64 in the notch 18 of the slot 66. A slight downward and lateral movement to the left of the butt end of the rod will result in releasing the clamping member and the spring will force said member upwardly to clamp the rod in position against the member 24. Thus it will be apparent that I have provided a simple and effective rod-holding device by which a rod can be held securely in any desired angular position relatively to its support while at the same time the rod will be readily removable at a moments notice.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:-

1. A rod holder comprising a bracket having rod-engaging members at opposite ends thereof, a resilient clamping member arranged to cooperate with one of the rod-engaging members to clamp the rod in position, the bracket having a slot therein through which the clamping member passes, and a detent adjacent the slot for holding the clamping member in inoperative position.

2. A rod holder comprising a rod-holding member, a rod-clamping member movable into and out of operative position relatively to the rodholding member, and means on the rod-holding member for holding the clamping member out of operative engagement with the rod.

3. A rod holder comprising a bracket having rod-engaging members, and a clamp for cooperating with one of the members for holding a rod in position in the bracket, said clamp having a laterally projecting rod-engaging portion and a resilient shank portion mounted upon the bracket and extending through a slot therein, the walls of said slot extending in a heightwise direction to guide the shank in movements to a rod-engaging position or into inoperative position.

4. A rod-holding device comprising a clamp for securing the device to a support, a bracket mounted upon the clamp for universal movement, rod-engaging members carried by the bracket, a resilient rod-securing member having a shank portion and a rod-engaging portion adapted to cooperate with one of the rod-engaging members to grip the butt of a rod, the bracket having a cam slot therein through which the shank portion extends and which is adapted to guide the securing member between its operative and inoperative positions, and a detent for hold.- ing the shank in position with the rod-engaging portion in inoperative position.

5. A rod holder comprising a bracket, rod-engaging members carried at the ends of the bracket, a resilient clamping member carried by the bracket and arranged to cooperate with one of the rod-engaging members to clamp the rod in position, and means for varying the pressure exerted by the clamping member.

JOHN B. HADAWAY. 

